The gracefulness and melodic suppleness of Tchaikovsky’s celebrated Violin Concerto stand in stark contrast to the dramatic intensity of Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 11. With Shostakovich, music became a living testimony of human history, and in this arresting, powerfully disconcerting work, the composer is the eulogist of the oppressed, denouncing political repression in all its forms. This concert will mark the OSM debut of brilliant young violinist Sergey Khachatryan.
Artists
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Rafael Payare, conductor
Sergey Khachatryan, violin
Students taking part in the Orchestral Immersion 2025 programme*
Programme
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35 (33 min.)
Intermission
Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony no. 11 in G minor, op. 103, ‘‘The Year 1905’’ (55 min.)*
*With the participation of interpretation students from higher education institutions
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Rafael Payare
Music DirectorRafael Payare’s prodigious musicianship, technical brilliance and charismatic presence on the podium have made him one of the world’s most sought-after conductors. A graduate of the celebrated El Sistema music education program in Venezuela, Mr. Payare began his formal conducting studies in 2004 with José Antonio Abreu. Since winning the prestigious Malko International Competition for Young Conductors in Denmark in 2012, Maestro Payare’s career has advanced rapidly. Since 2015, he has served as Principal Conductor of the Castleton Festival, founded by his mentor the late Lorin Maazel. He was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra from 2014 to 2019 and in 2019, took up the position of Music Director of the San Diego Symphony. In recent years, Rafael Payare has conducted many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including those of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Zurich, Berlin, Vienna, London, Munich, Chicago and Paris. He has also made important opera debuts at the Glyndebourne Festival, Stockholm’s Royal Swedish Opera, the Royal Danish Opera, and most recently at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In the 2022-2023 season, Payare became the ninth Music Director in the history of the OSM.
To consult:
rafaelpayare.com
Long biography
Sergey Khachatryan
ViolinBorn in Yerevan, Armenia, Sergey Khachatryan won First Prize at the eighth International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki in 2000, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the competition. In 2005, he claimed First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. His recent appearances include performances with the Dresdner Philharmonie, Korean National Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Orchestre national de Belgique, Queensland Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, and Bochumer Symphoniker. He also embarked on an extended tour of Spain with the Basque National Orchestra as well as on a North American tour with the Armenian National Philharmonic, whose destinations included Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, the Maison symphonique de Montréal, and Carnegie Hall in New York City. Sergey and his sister Lusine’s album My Armenia was released on the Naïve label and is dedicated to commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. The album garnered the 2016 Echo Klassik Award in the category Chamber Music Recording.